[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1591 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 1591
To amend title 38, United States Code, to reorganize the acquisition
structure of the Department of Veterans Affairs and to establish the
Director of Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation in the Department,
and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
May 5, 2025
Mr. Moran introduced the following bill; which was read twice and
referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend title 38, United States Code, to reorganize the acquisition
structure of the Department of Veterans Affairs and to establish the
Director of Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation in the Department,
and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.
(a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Acquisition Reform
and Cost Assessment Act of 2025'' or the ``ARCA Act of 2025''.
(b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents for this Act is as
follows:
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Department of Veterans Affairs acquisition organization.
Sec. 3. Department of Veterans Affairs major acquisition program
managers.
Sec. 4. Department of Veterans Affairs acquisition and procurement
reorganization matters.
Sec. 5. Independent verification and validation of major acquisition
programs of Department of Veterans Affairs.
Sec. 6. Department of Veterans Affairs cost assessment and program
evaluation.
Sec. 7. Department of Veterans Affairs other transaction authority and
advance market commitments for technologies
or services for provision of health care.
Sec. 8. Development and expansion of an 1102 internship or development
pipeline.
Sec. 9. Clerical amendment.
SEC. 2. DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS ACQUISITION ORGANIZATION.
(a) Definitions.--Chapter 81 of title 38, United States Code, is
amended by inserting after subchapter VI the following new subchapter:
``SUBCHAPTER VII--ACQUISITION ORGANIZATION, COST ASSESSMENT, AND
PROGRAM EVALUATION
``Sec. 8181. Definitions
``In this subchapter:
``(1) The term `major acquisition program' means a program
of the Department to acquire property, systems or technology,
assets, supplies, services, or a combination thereof, with an
estimated total program life-cycle cost of $250,000,000 or
more, as determined by the Secretary.
``(2) The term `non-major acquisition program' means a
program of the Department to acquire property, systems or
technology, assets, supplies, services, or a combination
thereof, with an estimated total program life-cycle cost of
less than $250,000,000, as determined by the Secretary.''.
(b) Assistant Secretary for Acquisition and Innovation.--Section
308 of such title is amended--
(1) in subsection (a)(1), by striking ``seven'' and
inserting ``eight''; and
(2) in subsection (b), by adding at the end the following
new paragraph:
``(13) Acquisition and innovation.''.
(c) Acquisition Organization.--Subchapter VI of chapter 81 of such
title, as added by subsection (a), is amended by adding at the end the
following new section:
``Sec. 8182. Acquisition organization
``(a) Assistant Secretary for Acquisition and Innovation; Chief
Acquisition Officer.--(1) The Secretary shall designate one of the
Assistant Secretaries specified in subsection (a)(1) of section 308 of
this title as the Assistant Secretary of Veterans Affairs for
Acquisition and Innovation, who shall focus solely on the
administration of functions specified in subsection (b)(13) of such
section.
``(2) Pursuant to section 1702(a) of title 41, the Secretary shall
designate the Assistant Secretary of Veterans Affairs for Acquisition
and Innovations as the Chief Acquisition Officer of the Department.
``(b) Office of Acquisition and Innovation.--(1) There is in the
Department an Office of Acquisition and Innovation.
``(2) The head of the Office of Acquisition and Innovation shall be
the Assistant Secretary of Veterans Affairs for Acquisition and
Innovation designated pursuant to subsection (a).
``(3) The Secretary shall take such actions as may be necessary to
ensure that major program offices of the Department align under the
Office of Acquisition and Innovation and report directly to the
Assistant Secretary of Veterans Affairs for Acquisition and Innovation.
``(4) The budget of the Office of Acquisition and Innovation shall
be established in the budget justification materials submitted to
Congress in support of the budget of the Department (as submitted with
the budget of the President under section 1105(a) of title 31).
``(c) Deputy Assistant Secretary for Logistics.--(1) Pursuant to
section 308(d) of this title, the Secretary shall appoint a Deputy
Assistant Secretary of Veterans Affairs for Logistics, who shall report
to the Assistant Secretary for Acquisition and Innovation.
``(2) The Deputy Assistant Secretary of Veterans Affairs for
Logistics shall be responsible for administration of logistics and
supply chain operations of the Department.
``(d) Deputy Assistant Secretary for Innovation.--(1) Pursuant to
section 308(d) of this title, the Secretary shall appoint a Deputy
Assistant Secretary of Veterans Affairs for Innovation, who shall
report to the Assistant Secretary for Acquisition and Innovation.
``(2) The Deputy Assistant Secretary of Veterans Affairs for
Innovation shall be responsible for all research, development, testing,
and innovation development organizations of the Department, including
the Veterans Health Administration Innovation Ecosystem.
``(e) Deputy Assistant Secretary for Procurement.--(1) Pursuant to
section 308(d) of this title, the Secretary shall appoint a Deputy
Assistant Secretary of Veterans Affairs for Procurement, who shall
report to the Assistant Secretary for Acquisition and Innovation.
``(2) The Deputy Assistant Secretary of Veterans Affairs for
Procurement shall be responsible for all procurement and contracting
organizations of the Department.''.
SEC. 3. DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS MAJOR ACQUISITION PROGRAM
MANAGERS.
Subchapter VI of chapter 81 of title 38, United States Code, as
added by section 2, is amended by adding at the end the following new
section:
``Sec. 8183. Major acquisition program managers
``(a) Appointments.--Not later than 30 days after any date on which
the Secretary approves a major acquisition program to commence, the
Deputy Secretary shall appoint a manager to be responsible for
administering such program.
``(b) Duties.--Each manager appointed pursuant to subsection (a)
shall report to the Assistant Secretary for Acquisition and Innovation
and shall be responsible for, with respect to the applicable major
acquisition program--
``(1) developing, in coordination with the Assistant
Secretary, and functional teams responsible for the program
requirements, a plan to administer such program, to be known as
the `program baseline', that includes--
``(A) a description of each acquisition phase of
such program;
``(B) for each such acquisition phase, requirements
for advancing such program to a subsequent acquisition
phase; and
``(C) estimates of the cost, schedule, and
performance of such program that account for the entire
life cycle of such program;
``(2) ensuring such program is in compliance with such
requirements;
``(3) securing funding necessary to satisfy such
requirements;
``(4) adopting standardized processes with established
success to support the progress of such program, including--
``(A) milestones;
``(B) exit criteria; and
``(C) specific accomplishments;
``(5) to the extent practicable, ensuring that personnel of
the Department responsible for estimating the budget and cost
of such program are provided with an opportunity to raise
concerns relating to such budget and cost prior to the
establishment of the program baseline under paragraph (1);
``(6) on a continuous basis, assessing and managing risks
to satisfying the requirements of such program baseline
relating to cost and schedule;
``(7) ensure such program complies with cost accounting
standards, as applicable;
``(8) establishing a workforce for such program that is
qualified and sufficient to perform the necessary functions of
such program; and
``(9) ensuring such program has adequate technology and
production capacity prior to commencing an acquisition phase of
such program related to manufacturing, if applicable.
``(c) Consideration of Alternate Requirements.--Not later than 90
days after any date on which a manager appointed pursuant to subsection
(a) establishes a program baseline described in subsection (b)(1), such
manager shall submit to the program decision authority under subsection
(d) a certification that such manager considered establishing alternate
requirements in such program baseline relating to the cost, schedule,
and performance of each acquisition phase of such program prior to
establishing such program baseline.
``(d) Program Decision Authority.--The Secretary shall ensure
that--
``(1) program decision authority for oversight of a major
acquisition program of the Department is the Assistant
Secretary for Acquisition and Innovation; and
``(2) program management offices for major acquisition
programs are independent of the Veterans Benefits
Administration, the Veterans Health Administration, the
National Cemetery Administration and Department staff offices
by reporting directly to the Assistant Secretary for
Acquisition and Innovation.
``(e) Program Decision Authority Authorization Required.--(1) Not
later than 30 days after any date on which a major acquisition program
concludes an acquisition phase, the manager of such program appointed
pursuant to subsection (a) shall notify the program decision authority
under subsection (d).
``(2) Such manager may not advance such program to a subsequent
acquisition phase without the authorization of such program decision
authority under subsection (d).''.
SEC. 4. DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS ACQUISITION AND PROCUREMENT
REORGANIZATION MATTERS.
(a) Contracting Officers.--The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall
transfer all contracting officers and acquisition centers in the
Department of Veterans Affairs to the Office of Acquisition and
Innovation established by section 8182(b) of title 38, United States
Code, as added by section 2(c).
(b) Consolidation of Logistics and Supply Chain Operations.--The
Secretary shall take such actions as may be necessary to consolidate
all activities relating to the administration of logistics and supply
chain operations of the Department under the Deputy Assistant Secretary
of Veterans Affairs for Logistics appointed pursuant to section 8182(e)
of such title, as added by section 2(c).
SEC. 5. INDEPENDENT VERIFICATION AND VALIDATION OF MAJOR ACQUISITION
PROGRAMS OF DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS.
(a) Contracting Authority.--Not later than 120 days after the date
of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall--
(1) review and take action to ensure that all independent
verification and validation, as well as testing contracts in
effect in the Department, comply with the provisions of this
Act and the amendments made by this Act; and
(2) seek to enter into one or more contracts using
competitive procedures with one or more entities to carry out
the functions described in subsection (c).
(b) Eligibility.--
(1) In general.--An entity is not eligible to be awarded a
contract under this section unless the Chief Acquisition
Officer of the Department of Veterans Affairs determines, at
the time of evaluation of offers submitted under subsection
(a), that the entity is currently performing or has performed,
during the preceding three-year period, not fewer than three
prime contracts for--
(A) the independent verification and validation or
systems engineering and technical advisory (SETA)
support of major acquisition programs or defense
systems, in accordance with guidance of the Department
of Defense relating to such acquisition programs or
such business systems; or
(B) the independent verification and validation or
systems engineering and technical advisory (SETA)
support of the development or acquisition of major
acquisition programs or defense systems, in accordance
with guidance of the Department of Defense relating to
such acquisition programs or such business systems.
(2) Limitation.--The Secretary shall ensure that an entity,
including its subsidiaries, joint ventures, subcontractors,
teaming partners, investments, and corporate officers, awarded
a contract under this section does not perform the functions
specified in subsection (c) with respect to a project or system
of the Department or organizational subdivision of the
Department if such entity is performing or has performed,
during the three-year period preceding the date of such award,
a covered contract--
(A) for such project or system; or
(B) for the Department or such organizational
subdivision of the Department.
(3) Consideration regarding future procurements.--A
contracting officer of the Department shall consider the
requirements of this subsection when implementing the
organizational conflict of interest mitigation procedures under
subpart of title 48, Code of Federal Regulations, or successor
regulations, with respect to future procurements in which an
entity awarded under subsection (a) is an offeror.
(c) Functions.--The functions specified in this subsection are the
following:
(1) The independent verification and validation of each
major acquisition program or major information technology
project--
(A) when such major program is initiated, with
respect to its design and the development of its
requirements and acquisition;
(B) at the conclusion of such project; and
(C) at any other intervals during such project
selected by the Chief Acquisition Officer of the
Department.
(2) The independent verification and validation of other
projects of the Department selected by the Chief Acquisition
Officer of the Department, at intervals selected by the Chief
Acquisition Officer.
(3) With respect to any project or system of the Department
selected by the Chief Acquisition Officer of the Department the
evaluation of--
(A) testing conducted by the Department or other
testing entity;
(B) technical architecture or design, including
data management;
(C) development processes;
(D) stability and resiliency;
(E) integration or interoperability with other
systems, including an assessment of data quality;
(F) adoption and use;
(G) management, including governance, costs, and
schedules; and
(H) any other elements or processes as determined
by the Chief Acquisition Officer.
(d) Transmittal to Congress.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 30 days after the date on
which an independent verification and validation is performed
pursuant to subsection (c)(1), the Secretary shall transmit to
Congress a copy of such independent verification and
validation.
(2) Verification and validation and evaluations.--Not later
than 30 days after the date on which the Committee on Veterans'
Affairs of the Senate or the Committee on Veterans' Affairs of
the House of Representatives requests a copy of any independent
verification and validation under paragraph (2) of subsection
(c) or evaluation under paragraph (3) of such subsection, the
Secretary shall transmit to such committee a copy of such
verification and validation or evaluation.
(3) Organizational conflict of interest; mitigation
plans.--Not later than 30 days after the date on which the
Committee on Veterans' Affairs of the Senate or the Committee
on Veterans' Affairs of the House of Representatives requests a
copy of any organizational conflict of interest mitigation plan
submitted by an offeror pursuant to subsection (b)(3), the
Secretary shall transmit to such committee a copy of such plan.
(e) Funding.--The Chief Financial Officer of the Department shall
ensure, to the extent practicable, that each organizational subdivision
of the Department that enters into a contract under subsection (a)
proportionally contributes amounts to fund each such contract.
(f) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Covered contract.--The term ``covered contract'' means
a prime contract or subcontract for--
(A) information technology support or software or
system design, development, sustainment, or maintenance
services;
(B) professional or management consulting services;
or
(C) advisory and assistance services.
(2) Independent verification validation.--The term
``independent verification and validation'' means a
comprehensive inspection, a review, analysis, and testing, or
an assessment of systems, software, or hardware, as applicable,
performed by an entity awarded a contract under subsection
(a)--
(A) to verify that the requirements of a project or
system, or a development phase of such a project, are
correctly defined;
(B) to val